2000: Drafting Tom Brady with the 199th pick.

That includes what might be the greatest draft pick in history: taking Michigan quarterback Tom Brady in the sixth round in 2000.

"The thing with Brady was really the traits: his work ethic, his intelligence, his decision-making," Belichick said in an interview. "I think a lot of the draft process is [about] not where the player is right now, but where the player will be a year from now. I don't think I've ever seen a player improve as much as Tom did. That's certainly a big credit to his work ethic and his determination."

2003: Giving up points — to get more in return.

Flash back to November 2003. The Broncos are up 24-23 on the Patriots with 2 minutes 51 seconds left in the game. The Pats are in the perilous position of 4th and 10 from their own 1-yard line.

Belichick's solution?

"Belichick was unwilling to give the Broncos strong field position, so he ordered his long snapper to air one over his punter's head, giving the Broncos two points on the safety and possession," John McTigue reports for ESPN.

Modern defenses want to match offenses in terms of strength and speed via personnel substitutions. They also want to confuse offenses with movement and disguise. The up-tempo no-huddle stymies those defensive options.

The defense doesn't have time to substitute, and it's also forced to show its hand: It can't disguise or shift because the quarterback can snap the ball and take advantage of some obvious, structural weakness.

And when the defense is forced to reveal itself, Tom Brady can change into a better play. The upshot of this tactic: Brady, of all people, sees defenses that are simpler than those most other NFL quarterbacks go up against.

Like with the six-receiver play against the Ravens on Jan. 10, the no-huddle strategy is an example of Belichick capitalizing on the structure of the game itself.

Quotes from the players when asked about the Hernandez situation in the coming days will be almost identical because that is what they will be told to say. I spent seven years in the NFL with five different teams, and I had never had a coach spend as much time talking about the media [as Belichick] and there was no close second.

Again, Belichick knows the power of information — and teaches his players to respect it, too.

7/

2013: Using the environment.

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

Late in the 2013 season, the Patriots were hosting the Denver Broncos. The game went into overtime.

The Pats won the toss. They then elected to defer.

The reason? Winds were gusting at over 25 miles an hour at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.